I would like to start by saying that writing a review in this space will not do Sara justice, therefore I would be happy for anyone who wants any further information to contact me directly.

Sara does not only care for my daughter, she has provided a home for her in the sense that my daughter would sometimes ask if she could stay with Sara even on days when she is not expected to be in Sara’s care. She is assisted by an incredible lady called Laura (who introduced me to Sara), and together they provide the most incredible environment for my daughter.

Sara started looking after my daughter when she was 2 years old in 2014 and I can confidently say that the quality of care is ace. She is very interested in my daughter’s happiness, learning and development and applies a range of styles to coach and support her, and also ensures that as parents we are constantly engaging and working consistently with her.

As an example, Sara has been teaching my daughter to read and I have been doing the same at home. Sara called me to visit her as she wanted to show me how well my daughter was doing. As we sat there, she demonstrated a phonetic technique that she uses to encourage my daughter to pronounce words on her own (different to my teaching style at home). It was incredible to see my daughter reading on her own at her age.

In another example Sara expressed concern about my daughter’s eating pattern and her low weight and agreed with me that we would use a particular reward system to encourage my daughter at meal times. This developed into teaching my daughter about the importance of eating to be ‘big, strong, and healthy’ and we have made great progress. The point is, although I was dealing with this concern at home, it was encouraging to note that Sara had prioritised this issue and to date, we both continue to work together with regular feedback on how my daughter is doing.

Sara is organised and ensures that, prior to the start of the year she provides her annual leave dates to cover the whole year. This allows parents to plan their annual leave/ time around child care or make specific cover arrangements in advance.

Sara has a feedback structure which involves a) daily updates and summary of activities in the day along with pictures, b) regular updates on my child’s development through termly meetings with parents and c) issue of a learning programme which explains her next steps in the current period including ideas of what parents can do to support their child at home, along with a summary of activities that she has planned in that period.

My daughter has started nursery and Sara remains her childminder after school. Sara has regularly sought to ensure that her teachers are aware of my daughter’s learning capability and level to ensure that they are working consistently with her on my daughter’s development.

She provides a wealth of activities including regular outdoor/ nature experiences with the children in her care, and regularly updates her teaching and play curriculum to adapt to the changing needs of the children, as well as experimenting with innovative teaching and play methods.

Honestly, as a first time ‘neurotic’ mother myself, I would say that if you are a parent looking for that sort of unreserved safety and assurance that your child would be taken care of, in the same way you would trust your child with a trusted close family member, then Sara provides that. As submitted at the start, I am happy to discuss this in further detail.

Thank you Sara and Laura!

From Shirley and David, Turnford - Broxbourne